Robin vs Team
by iguessso12
Summary: Part two is here! Times when Robin goes up against the team. As the most skilled and seasoned member it doesn't really matter how young he is. Take this Robin whumpers! The bird ain't no baby. The time is set before Zatanna joins the team. Slight spitfire
1. Chapter 1

"Team, report for training," Batman's monotone voice unexpectedly droned of the speakers of Mt. Justice.

Without question, the members of Young Justice migrated to the training room from their various locations: M'gann from the kitchen, Wally from the pantry, Superboy from the hangar, etc. Predictably, the same question crossed their minds as they gathered: "Why is Batman supervising training?"

That was Black Canary's job. Should they be afraid that Batman was taking this responsibility upon himself?

A minute later, the team had gathered, nervously shifting their feet as they eyed the Dark Knight dubiously. The only one missing was Robin. Had something happened in Gotham?

The Batman simply stared them down for a full minute. Kaldur felt like he was withering under the Bat's scrutiny; Wally thought he might pee his pants (errr… tights); Artemis was under the impression something horrible had transpired.

"Black Canary…" Batman began.

"Oh please tell us she's alright!" M'gann interrupted hysterically, "Is she in the hospital? Is she dead?" the Martian suddenly realized that she had interrupted the very dangerous man who was now glaring at her. "Sorry…" she squeaked out.

Batman continued, "Black Canary had an unexpected, personal engagement, and has asked me to arrange a training session for you. At this point the team has been together for five months. I believe it was time that all the members undergo an evaluation of their skills. Each individual will be tested to see how far they have come and what they can improve."

"Will you be the one testing us Batman?" Kaldur asked, forcing his voice to remain calm.

"No," Batman said without emotion, "He will."

The Dark Knight stepped to the side, his cape swishing around his feet as he did. Robin had seemingly materialized behind the bat; he certainly hadn't been there earlier. The youngest member of YJ smirked at the rest of the team, abstaining from his creepy cackle (for now).

"Why Robin?" Superboy bit out, glaring at the Dynamic Duo. Apparently he wasn't happy about dueling a non-meta human to prove he wasn't yet at his full potential.

"Because," Batman growled, "Robin is this team's analyst and strategist. It is part of his training to know the strengths and weaknesses of each of you. He has also been on this team the longest and therefore had the chance to observe you the most. He is the best person to do the evaluation; even better than me in some respects."

Kaldur saw the sense in this, "Understo-"

"You really think Rob can take us down?" Kid Flash rudely cut off Kaldur's affirmation. The young, hot-headed speedster was excited by the prospect of challenging his best friend. Wally was attempting to start an immature staring contest with the acrobat. Robin remained professional, calmly standing beside his mentor as he waited for the exercise to begin.

"Robin will duel each of you in one-on-one combat. Whatever the result, you _will_ listen to his advice. If there are no further questions, I will leave you now."

Batman turned and strode to the Zeta Transporter without even waiting for 'further questions.'

The silence remained unbroken save for the computerized voice announcing "recognize Batman 02" echoing throughout the cavern.

"What's his problem?" Artemis grouched.

"He's… busy," Robin mumbled, casting a glance at the transporter before turning to face the team. "We might as well get started."

"Nervous?" Wally teased, speeding up to the Boy Wonder and poking him on the shoulder repeatedly.

"You wish, Kid Mouth." Robin coolly shot back.

"Okay then," Kid Flash grinned mischievously, "Me first."

"Don't forget," Robin warned wisely, "Pride comes before a _fall_."

"Whatever." Wally rolled his eyes at the younger teen.

The rest of the team cleared the floor as the computer booted up, lighting the circle on the floor. Within the boundary for the ring white light cast ominous shadows upon the faces of the competitors. The observers were transfixed as the speedster and the ninja assumed ready stances for a fight. Who would be victorious? The powerful or the 'powerless.'

"Begin." The word was barely out of Robin's mouth before KF was speeding around the ring, moving so fast he was nearly impossible to track with the naked eye. Only a few seconds later he deviated towards Robin, attempting to throw a punch in his face. The boy wonder moved at the last moment, fluidly ducking under the attack and spinning to kick the speedster in the back. Wally stumbled, spurred on by the extra, unexpected momentum but was able to regain his balance and continue. Again, he angled back towards the acrobat, this time aiming for a fist in the gut. Robin blocked the swing with one forearm and grabbed KF's wrist with his other hand, using the speedster's momentum to spin him in a half circle and send him reeling in another direction. Wally was just barely able to turn his tumble into a summersault and jump back to his feet, glaring at the shorter teenager for humiliating him. Robin merely smirked in return.

"Really, Kid Clumsy," the bird mocked, "You'll never be able to take me down if you can't stay on your feet!"

Wally growled at his best friend. Without a second's delay he flashed towards Robin one last time, resorting to an all-out tackle. In the blink of an eye, Robin side-stepped Kid Flash's onslaught and casually stuck his foot out.

In one glorious flop, KF landed on the floor with a resounding _smack_. Robin's victory was reinforced by the computer's emotionless announcement: "Kid Flash. Status: Fail."

"And the first shall be last," Robin stated, offering his hand to the defeated speedster with a satisfied smile. Wally finally smiled back at Robin as he got to his feet again.

"Dude," he said excitedly, "That was so awesome. You gotta teach me how you did that. But… what's with the biblical innuendos?"

Rob shrugged nonchalantly, "Don't know. Just feeling the 'Wisdom of Solomon' today I guess. Anyway, about the fight:

"Number one: don't let your frustration get the best of you. You're smart Wally, _think_ before you act. Use a little bit of rationality. Plan your offense instead of just doing whatever occurs to you. Number two: you need to work on your hand-to-hand combat. With your super speed, overcoming most trained martial artists should be an easy task."

"What about you? You just creamed me, no sweat!"

"I'm not most martial artists," Robin reminded him with a grin.

"So does this mean you'll help me with my 'karate' skills?" Wally was practically bouncing on his toes with childish excitement.

"Sure KF," if Robin's eyes had been visible the team would have seen him roll them, "I'll help you with your 'karate' skills."

He turned to the team, "Who would like to go next?"

"I would," Robin was surprised to hear M'gann pipe up. She wasn't usually over-eager about these kinds of things.

She smiled sheepishly, "I'd just like to get it over with."

"Okay." the Boy Wonder shrugged as the new pair took their positions at opposite ends of the circle, "Begin."

Unlike the first match, Robin began the fight aggressively. He flung a barrage of bird-a-rangs from each hand before dashing forward for close range combat. M'gann halted the flight of the projectiles with her mind but barely managed to dodge Robin's first strike by floating out of his reach. Realizing he wasn't going to be able to engage her by normal means, Robin backed up to the edge of the ring. Maintaining a constant visual on his opponent the boy took a preparatory breath for his next move. With a sudden burst of speed, the bird made a running start into a round off, followed by a back handspring, then into a back flip with enough height to become a kick aimed at Miss. Martian's head. Panicked at Robin's suddenly threatening altitude, M'gann impulsively suspended the boy in midair with her telekinesis. Without even hesitating, the Boy Wonder spun an explosive disk at the Martian. The disk beeped once before its pre-programmed pyrotechnics blossomed into a cloud of raging orange fire.

M'gann cried out in fear, dropping Robin in her lapse of focus, before camouflaging herself to hide as far away as possible. Distracted by the light and noise of the bomb, no one noticed Robin again until he was standing over the fallen Martian girl.

"What happened?" Superboy asked, completely confused by the sudden ceasefire.

"I was expecting M'gann to drop me after I scared her," the dark-haired teenager explained as he knelt beside his comrade, "With that in mind, I was able to land on my feet and use the smoke from the explosion to locate Martian camo. Even though she was 'invisible,' the smoke parted around her, and gave away her position. M'gann had her back to me so it was simple to _un_stimulate a pressure point before she even knew what hit her."

Robin's explanation accompanied his checking of Miss Martian's vitals. He briefly massaged a nerve on her neck and helped her to sit up. The poor girl blinked in shock as she slowly regained her senses.

"Are you all right?" the youngest member of the team asked a bit uncertainly, concern briefly flitted across his face.

"Yeah," M'gann answered, slightly shaky, "What did I do wrong?"

Robin smiled, "You didn't do anything wrong, per se, you just did things you can improve. Try not to overreact when you are surprised. Use the height you achieve by flying to remain constantly aware of the condition of the fight. And don't forget that cloaking is not equivalent to complete invisibility. Otherwise, good job."

"Thanks…" she said, somewhat hesitantly as Superboy helped her stand and walk to her place on the sidelines.

Before the boy could ask for another challenger Kaldur stepped forward, "I wish to fight you next, Robin."

The Dark Knight's protégé said nothing as he watched Aqualad calmly take a ready stance and he assumed his own.

"Begin." The single word was uttered without emotion.

No activity resulted from the command. The two boys merely circled each other, observing and waiting patiently for the first move. The team looked on with interest. Robin was the only one who could challenge Aqualad's authority as team leader; since Santa Prisca it had been accepted that Kaldur was only the temporary leader. Robin was free to offer his input or bend the plan if he felt the situation required it during missions. Robin had even led a few missions himself. Would this turn out to be some sort of alpha male duel?

Two minutes passed before the two engaged simultaneously, beginning with basic martial arts that increased in ferocity. The rest of the team watched in awe as Robin and Aqualad moved in synch, neither of them landing a blow as they switched to eskrima sticks versus water-bearers. The only miniscule difference seemed to be that while Kaldur focused on strong, offensive swings, Robin used lithe movements to dodge and return very few of his own light punches. As the time passed, the Atlantean's unfruitful efforts forced him speed up his tempo. Sweat began to run down his face as the battle dragged on. Noticing that the Boy Wonder was barely breathing hard only served to further incite the older teenager as he pushed himself harder. The duel came to an abrupt end when Kaldur's footwork became sloppy due to his exhaustion; he overstepped a maneuver and Robin immediately exploited it. The younger dropped down on his hands to swing his legs around and sweep Kaldur's feet out from under him.

"Aqualad. Status: fail."

"That was a good fight, Robin," Kaldur conceded as he caught his breath, "Do you have any advice for me?"

Robin held out a hand for the Atlanean.

"Condition your endurance. Don't allow your aquatic abilities to be a drawback for you on land. Secondly, be willing to change your strategy. It would have been more effective to engage me differently when you realized that your attacks were unsuccessful."

Aqualad nodded humbly, "Valuable advice Robin. I shall take this into consideration in my training. You are very astute."

"Thanks Kaldur," Robin said with a small smile.

Aqualad had barely moved out of the circle when the Boy Wonder suddenly called out, "Artemis! You're next."

Puzzled by the order and suspicious of Robin's motives for calling her out, the blonde archer moved into the ring. She kept her eyes fixed on the smaller teen, wondering what his tactic would be. By watching the others she had seen that Robin exploited each member's weakness. She knew very well that her forte was long-range weaponry; Robin would undoubtedly focus on close-range, physical combat. She would be ready.

"Begin," the bird said with a knowing smirk that sent chills down Artemis's spine.

As predicted, Robin jumped directly into a hand-to-hand fight; Artemis didn't even bother to draw her bow, instead focusing on her knowledge of martial arts, courtesy of daddy dearest. Robin offered her a wide grin as Artemis was forced to take the defensive. His moves were precise and quick, Artemis could tell that his skills were on par with the more dangerous members of her family. Yet the boy seemed to be teasing her, not taking every opening or bothering to finish her off (which, no doubt, he could). The duel continued, but everyone could see it was a one-sided battle; Robin was toying with her.

"What are you waiting for?" She finally growled in frustration.

"This."  
Robin ducked out of sight and less than a second later she felt cold steel press into her wrists. A pair of handcuffs clicked into place, stunning the room into silence.

Artemis regained her snark about five seconds later. She spun around to glare at the bird, snarling, "What was _that_ for?"

She was practically simmering with anger, but trepidation wormed its way into her thoughts. It was just a coincidence; he didn't know; he couldn't know about her. He wouldn't trust her if he knew her secret. No one would.

Hands shackled behind her back, she felt vulnerable and weak as Robin ignored her question and began his commentary:

"Congratulations Artemis," his complement felt empty to Artemis, "You did an excellent job anticipating my strategy. You acknowledge your weakness, that's good. Devote yourself to improving. Never be indecisive; do your part; and trust your teammates to do theirs."

Silence pervaded the cave as Robin's combat boots padded across the lighted floor to stand behind the blonde archer. Discreetly, as he unlocked the cuffs his quiet voice reached her ears: "We're family, regardless…"

With that, he was gone. Feeling numb Artemis walked out of the ring, trying to rally her shattered confidence. What did Robin know?

"Superboy, you're the only one left." The youngest team member elected their resident Kryptonian. Last but not least.

The Boy of Steel was thinking along the same lines as the rest of the team as he observed the lean acrobat doubtfully: Conner was indestructible, how was a midget like Robin going to take him down?

"Don't underestimate me," Robin said, reading the look on his face, "Begin."

Slowly, but with building speed, Superboy advanced on the bird, employing the techniques Black Canary had been teaching him. He knew combat was one of Robin's strengths; this way, the boy would be less likely to get injured in the sparring match.

Except, Robin didn't react like Conner had originally planned he would. The bird didn't even bother to engage.

Instead, he fell into a backbend to avoid the first punch; only Kaldur noticed him stick something to the floor before he sprung to the side off his hands. Superboy continued after the black-haired boy, but the rest of the fight followed the same pattern as the first exchange: Superboy would attack, only to be effortlessly evaded by Robin. The team watched an amazing display of acrobatic maneuvers, almost as if the Boy Wonder wasn't in a fight, but a performance. Conner never even came close as Robin literally went in circles around him. The team was unsure what the strategist was planning; were his movements random or by design?

So far, Superboy had done a pretty good job of keeping his cool, but when Robin back-flipped out of his range _again_ with a cackle, he understandably lost it. With a roar of rage, the boy of steel barreled across the sparring circle. Robin smirked, as if he had been expecting this; right when Superboy crossed the center of the ring the bird tugged the wire he had been trailing. The titanium thread wrapped around Conner's ankles, his momentum causing him to pitch forward, falling face-first on the ground. Less than a second later, Robin handspringed onto the clone's back where he crouched victoriously.

"I win," Robin said smugly.

"No you didn't," Connor defended himself, "You only knocked me down, "In two seconds I could get loose and be back in the fight."

"Not so," the bird corrected, "I have a means to take you out, and I only need _one _second to use it. You may be indestructible, but you are not invulnerable." He got up off of Superboy's back and continued:

"You are definitely improving under Black Canary's tutelage, though, I'll give you that. But you need to remember to employ your other powers in a fight. If I had used a smoke bomb, that would have prompted you to use your supervision and superhearing and you would have noticed the wire, but since I did not, you didn't bother. Be creative with the powers you have and you won't need to be as powerful as Superman to fight smart. Also, don't let your fight take you places you don't want to go; a battle can be used as a lure; don't fall into a trap."

Superboy snapped the bonds around his ankles and angrily rose to his feet.

"So what!" he demanded, "Do you just sit around all day thinking of ways to take each of us down? You pry into all of our secrets just find out how to beat us?"

Robin frowned at the accusations, but remained calm.

"I am prepared to face whatever situation might befall this team. That includes the possibility that one of you may turn oppose us against your will. It is not unwise to be ready for anything. Even you all should have at least an idea of how to take _me _out if the circumstance called for it."

Superboy laughed humorlessly then sneered, "You think that the rest of us versus you wouldn't be enough?"

"Don't be so sure," Robin said, his eyes narrowing, "Regardless, we are a team, and as a team we should understand each other's strengths and weaknesses. It will make us better. The fewer secrets we have between us, the more meshed and fine-tuned we will be."

The team was stunned silent; they had never heard their youngest member talk so candidly nor so seriously, when not on a mission. Nobody knew what to say.

"You're right though, Superboy," Robin conceded, suddenly smirking devilishly once more, "It is unbalanced: because I know everyone's secrets."

With one last laugh echoing throughout the cave the bird disappeared, leaving his stunned team still staring at the spot where he had last stood.

The team had been spending the weekend at the cave again; there had been no missions, though they were technically 'on call' for duty. Artemis knew it was late at night (or early morning), but she had been unable to sleep: something that happened when she was pondering too much. She quietly opened the door of her honorary, Mt. Justice bedroom; thinking that some time sitting up and a hot drink would help her sleep she crept down the corridors to the kitchen.

She hadn't quite made it when her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she noticed a blue glow issuing from her destination. As stealthy as possible, she made her way down the wall and peeked around the corner.

Robin was sitting at a high stool behind the counter, typing away on one of his many laptops. His back was to her, but all the same he called out: "Hey Artemis."

She dropped the pretense of sneaking and walked up to lean on the counter space next to the Boy Wonder.

"What are you doing up?" she asked. She glanced at the computer screen, but didn't even bother to read it after noticing the impossibly small print of police reports, underworld intel, and computer codes.

"Bat insomnia," the bird said with a half-grimace, half-smile. "Couldn't sleep if I wanted to. This is still daytime to me."

Artemis glanced at the digital clock on the kitchen stove: 3:30 AM. Sheesh, when did this kid's 'day' get over? Robin looked pale and washed-out in the weak illumination of his laptop. She couldn't read his face well enough to see if he was tired; that and he was still wearing his mask and uniform.

"Want some hot chocolate?" she offered as Robin continued to type away at the keyboard.

"That sounds great!" the younger teen answered enthusiastically.

She turned on the lights and busied herself with the task of making hot chocolate for a few minutes: heating the water, mixing the powder, and adding the marshmallows. Robin didn't say anything as he continued to work, but when she set a mug down in front of him he actually closed the computer and accepted the steaming drink. Artemis sat on the stool beside him which suddenly reminded her of their last training session.

"So what's bothering you?" the boy asked, his attention fixed on the blonde archer.

"What?" Artemis was momentarily caught off guard by the question.

A smile tugged at the side of Robin's mouth; "You're up in the middle of the night. Something is bothering you. So what is it?"

"The fact that you're a know-it-all, that's what." Artemis's reply was slightly on the more hurtful side of teasing, especially since he was just trying to be nice.

Robin grinned, "True, but I'm just trying to care."

Artemis knew that so she answered, albeit indirectly, "I was thinking and I couldn't fall asleep, so I got up to have hot coco with a nocturnal bird."

"Sounds… therapeutic."

Artemis tried to scowl at him, but his dorky grin disengaged her attack. She found herself smiling as well.

"What were you doing?" she asked, gesturing at the computer and steering the topic away from her personal life.

"Hm…" Robin said through a sip of his drink, "Oh, just some research. I'm looking for any kind of link between recent criminal activities, Batman always has me working on at least one Gotham crime case, and I have a pet project of my own. I keep busy enough."

His mention of Gotham crime made Artemis uncomfortable again. Had his way of ending their fight in the training session been intentional or accidental? She had to know, and this late night had made her tired enough to drop her guard.

"How much do you know?" Robin seemed to catch the true meaning of her question.

"Everything," was his ambiguous answer.

Robin met her eyes; the masked and the unmasked.

He was the first to look away, "I'm a hypocrite," he said quietly.

Now she was interested, Robin _never_ talked about himself (so it was true that boys were more talkative at night).

"What do you mean by that?" she asked, taking a drink of her hot chocolate while she waited for him to answer.

Robin looked thoughtful for a while before he responded, "What Superboy said today (excuse me, yesterday), it made me think. I told everyone they needed to come clean about their secrets, that it would strengthen the team. And it will. But I can't. It's not really fair that I know everyone else's secrets, yet no one can know mine."

Artemis wasn't sure what to say. It did sound hypocritical, but then again, it was _Batman_ who was enforcing that secret, not Robin. The teenager made it sound like he _would _tell if he _could_. That alone made him seen more genuine and trustworthy.

"Sometimes it makes me feel really alone," he mumbled, looking intently at his drink.

Inspiration hit Artemis like an epiphany. She lightly put a hand on her shoulder so the younger boy would look at her.

"Despite what Superboy said, Robin, the team trusts you, _completely_. We know you wouldn't use the information you have to hurt us. You are who you are to us; we accept you for who you are. You support our team and its mission with your skills, and that includes intel. Besides, no one could fake being as happy and cheerful as you are all the time."

Granted, that speech was totally unlike her, but the smile it elicited was totally worth it. It just didn't seem right that Robin was sad. The world would be a darker place without a grinning bird.

"Thanks Artemis," Robin said gratefully. He had finished his hot chocolate and now got up to put it in the sink. He grabbed his laptop off the counter on his way out, "Sleep well,"

"You going to bed?" she called out.

"Down to the practice room," his answer faded away.

Artemis rolled her eyes as she finished her drink, amazed at how Robin could be so constantly energetic. Now that all her dark thoughts had been pushed to the side by the team's most cheerful member, she felt she could sleep. Trust was something she struggled with, but she felt like she had found a family that she could finally be willing to trust.


	2. Chapter 2

The team was, once again, at the mountain, chilling in the after school hours. The only one missing was the Boy Wonder, who had apparently been doing the Dynamic Duo thing in Gotham since Sunday. It was now Tuesday and no one had seen Robin since – though that wasn't completely uncommon. Sometimes they didn't even see him when he came to the mountain.

For Artemis, the main drawback of the bird's absence was that a friendless Wally was a very bored Wally; and a bored Wally was a very, very annoying Wally. Usually the two friends would be hanging out, off pranking somebody, but at least they would be quiet.

The speedster had been bothering Artemis since the moment she stepped out of the zeta tubes at 3:45 p.m. It had taken her a good hour to ninja off his radar, finding blissful sanctuary in Robin's room. It was the only place she was sure Wally wouldn't look for her. That and she needed to borrow one of the Boy Wonder's numerous laptops to send an email.

She felt proud of herself; she had finally made a friend at Gotham Academy. Dick Grayson might be a total nerd and a grade below her (a freshman,) but he was fun to hang out with. Especially at lunch seeing as the two shared Accelerated Algebra II and the inexplicable need to finish their homework so that they wouldn't have to take it home (well, so _she _wouldn't have to take it to the mountain). They tended to gravitate toward each other, in a sort of good friends kind of way. If Wally found out, she'd never hear the end of it.

Unfortunately, Dick had been sick since Monday, and she was missing his brilliant brain while she tried to trawl through algebraic equations without his help to decipher their meaning (the kid was a certifiable genius). She thought it would be nice to send him a get-well note via the World Wide Web.

She booted up the first laptop she found, hoping Robin didn't have it impregnably locked and wouldn't kill her later for using his stuff. Fortunately the screen blinked on without asking for a password. Instead, a banner scrolled across the screen: 'Hey Artemis.'

The archer smiled. She didn't know how he did it, but Robin always seemed to know that other people needed. She had found it creepy at first, but now she realized that was just how Robin was; he thought of everything. He was a bat through and through. In the end, she was just glad he was on their side, not against them.

Artemis quickly wrote a short email, sending it to Grayson's school address because she didn't have any other way to contact him. He was, after all, the prince of Gotham; his phone number was as restricted as phone numbers get.

She shut the laptop and set it aside as a sudden announcement cackled over the Mount Justice speakers: "Team, report to the briefing room."

Only it wasn't the Batman's voice. It was Red Tornado's. What did he want?

Within a minute, the team had gathered, standing before a holo screen that displayed the gleaming visage of Tornado.

"For what reason have you summoned us?" Aqualad asked, voicing the question on everyone's mind.

"This is an emergency protocol. You are to be immediately dispatched to Star City. Your mission is to apprehend Robin. He is currently en route to Queen Industrial Labs to steal top secret technology research. Depart immediately."

The team was left aghast.

"We're going to WHAT!" Artemis couldn't mask the disbelief in her voice.

"What's going on?" Kid Flash asked, his anger reaching a boiling point. It sounded as if Tornado was insulting his best friend; calling him a thief; calling him a traitor.

"Why is Robin stealing?" M'gann's innocent voice was quiet with shock

Superboy remained impassive, staring at the league member as if he were trying to deduce if this were some sort of test or robotic programming left by T.O. Morrow to turn the team against their friend.

"Tornado," Kaldur kept his voice respectfully level, but he was close to frustration on the inside, "Please tell us what has transpired."

An explosion resounded across the link, interference causing ripples of static to cascade across the screen. In the distance, growing nearer, the sounds of a fight echoed discordantly out of the speakers, a chaotic jumble of noise sending ominous chills down the teenagers' spines.

"The battle is nearing," Red Tornado said as urgently as an android could sound, "There is not much time for an explanation."

"So tell us. Now!" Superboy demanded with a scowl.

"Please," Kaldur added, trying to soften his teammate's severity, but maintain the same urgency.

Red Tornado began: "We assume that it happened Sunday night while the Batman and Robin were on patrol. They were infected by a new strain of Poison Ivy's mind control spores. We believe she was hired by someone due to the fact that their recent activities have been very… purposeful. Monday morning, a source informed us of the Duo's downfall. Superman was dispatched to quietly resolve the matter, but he was quickly subdued. Since then, the entire League has attempted to detain Batman and Robin, but have failed. Right now five members of the Justice League are out of commission (injured), six more are inactive (unconscious), not including the two that are currently off-world. The League is weak enough that the Duo has split up to finish their mission. While the remaining heroes confront Batman, we need the team to pursue Robin and… stop him.

JY was gaping at this news.

"Why didn't we know about this earlier?" Artemis asked

"The situation has been delicate. We…"

Whatever Red Tornado was going to say next was cut off by a loud whine. A glowing, blue, baseball sized device sailed across the sky behind the Red hero's image; a final beep signaled its ignition. The last thing the team saw was a cerulean wave enveloping the screen before it went completely white. The holo display closed, signaling the cut connection.

"What happened?" M'gann asked worriedly.

"That was an EMP emitter;" Wally said grimly, "RT is now 'out of commission' too."

"We cannot dwell on it," Kaldur said, his soldierly composure in place, "The League has their mission and we have ours."

Minutes later the team sat in uncomfortable silence, anxiously waiting for the boiship to arrive at their fateful destination.

It was twilight by the time the team reached Star City, and the dreary, overcast sky didn't help the mood very much either. Artemis disembarked first to do the usual scout out, but the absence of their resident bat made the team feel like they were missing a limb. Less than a minute later the archer gave Kaldur the okay; he issued the order for the members to disperse. The plan: find Robin, surround him, and overwhelm him as quickly and efficiently as possible. It was simple really; it shouldn't have been hard; it was only Robin, right?

Through the telepathic link Superboy alerted the others of his position. He had located the Batman's protégé with his x-ray vision. The bird was crouched in the air vents, poised above the main hard drive unit, ready to steal the data when the security was weak. Kaldur relayed the commands for the team to converge and surprise him when he made his move for the theft.

The link went silent in anticipation for the fight; no one was sure what to expect in the next few minutes.

The shaft vent was removed so quietly only Superboy noticed it a first: a light scraping sound closely followed by the muted landing of Robin's light, flexible, combat boots.

The Boy Wonder froze in a crouched landing, as if he knew the team was watching. Slowly, he turned to face their hiding places, his cape barely swishing in the sterile air of the data conservatory. Wally shuddered, noticing that his friend's face was completely blank. His mouth didn't curve into his usual, self-satisfied smirk; his eyes didn't narrow with merited suspicion. No expression formed, he simply slid his hand into a pouch on his belt and flung a disk at Miss Martian's camouflaged form. It embedded itself in the wall near her hood, exploding into a cryogenic prison, trapping the Martian, but not causing any serious harm.

The fight had begun.

The team jumped into action to avenge their fallen comrade and to take back their traitorous one. Kid Flash beat the blitz, the first one to reach the mind-controlled hero. Wally wasn't surprised when his first attack missed. Robin had been teaching him to plan a strategy that utilized a set of feints to mislead a more experienced opponent. What did surprise the speedster though was the sudden sting he felt to his right, lower leg muscles. A tingling feeling was racing up his leg and numbing his toes. Anxiously, he peered down for signs of damage, but found none. He looked up just in time to see Robin bearing down on him, but not soon enough to dodge the fist that connected to his jaw.

Unable to keep his balance on his wacked out leg, Wally spun around, violently toppling to the floor. Before he could even catch his breath, Robin had crouched over him, quickly jabbing the Fastest Boy Alive in the left calf. His good leg was suddenly plagued by the same, numbing pain as the other.

Bewildered, Wally looked up at his best friend; his face was obscured by his black gauntlet curled in a cruel fist. From the knuckles protruded three long needles loaded with what Wally now realized to be a concentrated muscle paralysis serum. Kid Flash would not be running anywhere in the near future.

Whatever gloating the entranced bird may have enjoyed over the fallen speedster was cut short by a strong kick, courtesy of Aqualad.

Robin flowed with the momentum of the attack, handspringing backwards into a grinding crouch. He rose, completely expressionless as he evaluated his remaining three opponents; his demeanor in stark contrast with the team's tense stance.

As Artemis prepared herself, a fleeting thought escaped her mind, 'Does he even know what he's doing?'

'I am not sure.' Kaldur's voice echoed through her mind. Miss Martian's link was still in place, she was still conscious despite being frozen solid.

'I've been trying to reach him telepathically,' M'gann said, 'but his mind is wardened off by his orders. I can sense his consciousness, but it's repressed. I can't make contact so I can't say whether or not he's aware.'

'Are we gonna stop him or what?' Superboy demanded impatiently.

Wally coordinated form the floor, 'Organize the attack so that you all charge at once. Rob has less of a chance of fighting you off if you're together.'

'Wise advice from the one who decided to go solo,' Artemis couldn't resist pointing out Wally's hypocrisy.

'Noted, Kid,' Aqualad took control before an argument to break out in the middle of an important mission. He saw Robin sprint towards the drives, taking advantage of the standoff. Seeing their chance while the boy's back was turned Kaldur called out mentally, 'Team, go!'

Kaldur, Superboy, and Artemis charged.

Robin spun to face his adversaries. He ducked and weaved around Aqualad and Artemis's attacks, smoothly dodging their strikes, but Conner was moving faster.

Superboy was surprised when he landed a hit. Robin had always been able to evade; the clone had never actually been able to hurt the bird (apart from the first time they had met, but then again, he hadn't really been sane then). Now his fist connected, sending Robin skidding across the linoleum until his momentum was halted by a floor-to-ceiling hard drive.

Robin rose unsteadily to his feet, hand gripping the drives for support. Kaldur followed up Superboy's attack, hoping to get the bird while he was still groggy. But Robin was clever. He dodged Aqualad's strike, kartwheeling out of the way so that the Atlanean's fist landed where Robin's hand had rested on the drive. Kaldur's strike triggered the explosive disk Robin had armed while standing up, blowing the computer drive in half so that the broken section landed heavily on an unsuspecting Aqualad.

Superboy spared a glance at their KOed leader, but one glance was one too many. Robin was still moving after Kaldur's offense, the moment Conner lost his focus the bird took advantage of it. Whipping out his taser, Robin momentarily took aim and ejected the hooked wires towards the boy of steel. Superboy felt it, but didn't think much about it. After all, it had happened before (unsuccessfully). But as the electric charge raced down the lines, a pit formed in Conner's stomach; he didn't feel right.

The hooks: they were tipped with kryptonite.

But it was already too late. The voltage ripped through his body, a crippling force. He went down hard, his thoughts fading out before he even had a chance to tell himself how stupid he'd been to underestimate Robin. Bats never made the same mistake twice.

Artemis looked around at her fallen teammates. She was alone, just like she had been when the Reds attacked. But that time, she had Robin. Now he was the enemy.

M'gann had lost consciousness too; Artemis held felt the mind link slip away a moment ago. She was truly alone.

She looked up. Robin hadn't advanced; he simply waited as if he knew her failure was inevitable.

Artemis steeled herself: _Get traught._

She drew back her bow and let her arrows fly, using it as a distraction to gain some distance. Robin intercepted her projectiles with batarangs, relentlessly pursuing the last standing member of Young Justice.

It was all she could do to stay away from him. She knew what would happen if he got too close: it would end quickly. Artemis fired arrow after arrow; trick arrows exploding into foam traps, nets, or electric fields. Robin skillfully avoided the areal barrage, avoiding some of the shafts so narrowly she thought she had hit him. But she was running out of arrows and he was getting closer. Change of tactics.

She collapsed her bow, drawing two long hunting knives. Jade had always been better with knives than Artemis, but that didn't mean the archer was inept. She crossed the blades, running the edges along each other to produce a metallic ring before taking a ready stance. Robin stopped his advance.

Artemis's face was set in a determined grimace. Something she had noticed in training: Robin hated knives. He wasn't scared of them, but they reminded him of unpleasant run-ins with the Joker. He avoided knives if possible, and when she sparred with them in practice sessions, he would lose his joking manner and quickly take her out without a cackle.

The bird's face was impassive, but he was finally standing still.

She watched as he reached into his belt. Before she could react, he activated three smoke spheres which beeped simultaneously before he let them drop. The gray cloud spread quickly, obscuring Robin's figure from her sight. Artemis gripped her knives nervously, shifting her stance even lower to be ready.

He came like a specter out of the murk – silent and deadly. Expertly, she spun out of range of his initial attack, her knives flashing in the gloom. Robin held his collapsible Eskrima sticks, now fully extended, to match her weapon of choice.

He disappeared again, melting into the shadows.

Moments later, Artemis cried out as one of her knives was painfully knocked out of her hand; it skidded away, out of sight. Frantically, she looked to the left and the right, only noticing Robin's second approach at the last moment. Instinctively, she raised her remaining knife to block the path of his stick towards her neck – a blow that would have most certainly knocked her out cold. Instead, the colliding weapons locked. The sharp blade of her knife bit into the heavy material of his Esckrima.

Artemis didn't recover fast enough; Robin reacted immediately.

He grabbed her wrist, flipped over her shoulder, and violently wrenched her arm.

Artemis couldn't hold back the scream of pain that escaped her lips as her arm popped out of its socket. Her shoulder was on fire; the white pain eliminating every other thought. She collapsed to her knees, cradling her pain riddled arm to her chest. She thought she heard Wally calling her name, but her mind wouldn't process the signals. The rational part of her brain reminded her that this had happened before, during training with her father, but this was _now_. And it hurt like hell.

She cracked her eyes through the fog of pain to see Robin, completely unopposed, step up to the computer drives and work his magic on his wrist computer. Within half a minute, he was done, slipping back through the vents without a backwards glance at his team. Artemis ground her teeth, channeling her pain and frustration into anger. They had failed; five versus one and they had failed.

A hand hesitantly rested on her shoulder. Kid Flash had dragged himself over to where Artemis was, worry written across his face.

"What happened?"

"He got away," Artemis mumbled, closing her eyes and gripping her injured arm.

"No, I mean, what happened to you?" Wally's voice was filled with concern.

"I dislocated my shoulder. Stupid mistake."

Wally didn't say anything for a moment. He was watching her intently.

"We didn't listen," he said eventually, rearranging his paralyzed legs so that he was sitting beside her.

She cast him a confused look, one eyebrow quirked in question, "What are you talking about?"

"Rob told us we needed to be able to stop him if the situation required it. Well, the situation requited it, and we were clueless."

Artemis would have shrugged her shoulders, but she didn't want to jar her injured one.

"Not you though," Wally went on. He put a hand on her arm in a comforting way, but the action only caused her to suck in a painful breath between her teeth. "You did awesome. You were the last one standing, but you kept on fighting. Rob had a tough time taking you on!"

Artemis was slightly embarrassed by Wally's praise.

"I still lost." She reminded him, her face a little warm.

"Details, details," he dismissed her objection giving her a sneaky smirk, "You looked awesome doing it too, by the way."

Okay, what the heck. Did that stuff Robin hit him with paralyze his brain too? What was the speedster getting at? He wasn't usually this…

A sudden flare of pain spiked down her arm as Wally unexpectedly yet firmly popped her shoulder back into place. She bit her tongue to hold back the yelp that rose in her throat. Hot tears streamed, unbidden, down her face, soaking into her mask. She curled into a ball, inadvertently leaning against Wally's chest as he comfortingly put his arms around her. It took her a minute to regain her composure before looking up to glare at the speedster. He was grinning, but there was undisguised concern in his green eyes.

"That hurt!" she hissed, but didn't push away.

Wally seemed to think that response meant that she was fine, "You never saw it coming."

"You are way too smug."

"What can I say," he said with a shrug, "It's not like I've never dislocated _my_ shoulder with a sudden stop. Flash just talks to me until I'm distracted, and then puts it back into place. He usually buys me ice cream too." He added as an afterthought.

"Then you owe me ice cream." She said, standing up.

"Fair enough," the red-head agreed.

Wally struggled to his feet. His super-fast metabolism had burned off most of the drug by now, but Artemis still had to help steady him. It was almost comfortable with his arm around her shoulders. Stupid hormones! She banished her wayward thoughts, focusing on the task at hand.

The pair decided to lift the broken equipment off Kaldur first. He groaned, stirring after they had managed to move the mammoth sized hard drive. As they panted from the effort, Aqualad used his hydrokinesis to free M'gann from the ice. She coughed and gasped upon waking, but was shortly able to arouse Conner telepathically.

Within a few minutes the whole team was on their feet. Kaldur was grateful to observe that no one had been seriously injured; perhaps Robin really did know what he was doing despite the mind control.

"Well that was a failure." Superboy's surmised bluntly.

"What do we do now?" M'gann asked, "We need to help him. Robin is _our _teammate."

"Darn right!" Wally said.

They team looked to Kaldur. Luckily he was saved from deciding what to do by a call coming over his communicator. He pressed a finger to his ear to receive the transmission.

"Get over to the Star City International Design Center, pronto!" It was the Flash's voice, "The team needs to _detain_ Robin. Just _detain_ him, mind you. I will be there shortly take care of things." He hung up without waiting for an answer. The Flash was always in a hurry.

The team didn't need to be told twice. They nearly broke the sound barrier en route.

It wasn't hard to find him this time. The bird was jumping over rooftops; a Star City Police helicopter had its spotlight trained on the boy. Young Justice joined the fun, dropping out of the bioship and surrounding Robin.

"Don't let him leave this rooftop!" Kaldur ordered, "Don't engage him, just keep him here until Flash arrives."

The change of strategy helped the team stay focused. Instead of a hodge-podge attack, they diverted Robin's offenses towards themselves so that he wouldn't leave their perimeter.

Suddenly, an unexpected wave of dizziness hit every member of Young Justice like a tidal wave. They collapsed onto the tarmac of the roof. The feeling was terrifyingly familiar: Vertigo.

Wally looked up just in time to see his Uncle flick a switch on Count Vertigo's strange head device. Still on his hands and knees, Wally noticed his teammates in similar positions as they shook their heads to banish the wooziness; everyone but Robin.

"Rob!" he called, scrabbling over to his best friend.

The Flash beat him there, kneeling beside the young hero to gather him in his arms.

"Why is he unconscious?" Artemis sounded a bit hysterical, "The rest of us are fine!"

"He's tired, let him rest," The Flash's laid-back manner never ceased to amaze them. He had the boy cradled in his arms.

"Explain," Superboy demanded. Kaldur shot him a look, "…please," he added grudgingly.

"Forty-Eight hours later and we _finally_ figure it out!" Flash exclaimed, "Batman would not be proud of us. But then again, that's why we need him…"

"To. The. Point." Wally prompted his mentor.

"Oh yeah, Right. Well anyway, we finally noticed that all of Batman's gadgets were tailored for each individual in the League. So we zetaed up to the watchtower, grabbed this do-hicky, and zapped Bats a few times. He didn't come prepared to fight Count Vertigo (but then again, we found sonic filters in his utility belt, so technically, he did come prepared), but he wasn't expecting it from us! We figured the same technique would work on mini-bats, and it did." The team was still looking at him like he had left out the important part, "And Robin is unconscious because he has been awake for 52 hours straight and all it took was a little _push_ to put him over the edge of exhaustion."

"So, what now?" M'gann asked curiously looking at Robin. He looked small and vulnerable in the red-clad hero's arms. His face shone pale in the darkness, black hair mussed where his head rested on Flash's chest. It was hard to believe that barely an hour ago he had been threatening enough to disarm all of his super-powered friends.

"I'm taking him home," Flash said, "Batman is already back at the Batcave and Agent A is anxious to have Ri- Robin home as well. But, he'll probably be back before you know it." He said the last part with a resigned sigh. Bats never stay down for long.

The Flash disappeared. A brisk wind was the only sign of his departure.

It was silent for a moment before the unforeseen occured.

"Do Batman and Robin_ live_ in the Batcave," Kaldur mused, "I wonder."

Wally couldn't suppress his snort, "Of course not, duh!"

"And what do you know about it?" Artemis challenged, she had always figured Wally knew more about the Bats than anyone else.

"Absolutely nothing!" Wally amended, realizing he'd slipped up, "I'm going home now. See you all later." He was gone in a flash.

"Pft, typical Wally."

All in a not-so-ordinary day's work for the team.

Kid Flash had waited seventeen hours. Seventeen hours! That was a long time to wait for a speedster. True, he had spent ten of those hours sleeping, and two more watching TV before his mom had forced him to go to school for the remaining five. But really, seventeen hours! How many more before Dick was going to call him, text him, something! Wally wouldn't stand for another minute of it. He was going to Gotham himself. You don't just get mind-controlled for two days, then not tell your best friend that you were finally okay. That was unheard of!

The moment the last bell rang, Wally was zipping down the hall and to the nearest zeta tube. He ran through Gotham fast enough that no one would notice him, save for a light breeze ruffling their hair. Wayne Manor rose on the horizon. Wally remembered how intimidated he had been the first time he visited, but that was two years ago now. These days, he skidded to a halt at the front door, grabbed both knockers and banged them as obnoxiously as possible.

Alfred answered; one eyebrow rose disdainfully at the teenager's antics.

"Ah, Wallace. I had a feeling it was you." His accent, which Wally always thought was awesome, negated his subtle sarcasm. The speedster stepped into the mansion as Alfred stepped aside.

A voice echoed down into the foyer, "Alfred, is someone here?"

"He's on his way up, Master Richard." Alfred called up.

Wally took that as his cue. He raced up the Persian carpeted staircase as fast as he could. Alfred's admonishment, 'no running, please,' fell on deaf ears (or maybe it was because Wally was already in Dick's room).

His best friend was sitting up in bed, black hair damp as if he had just taken a shower. There were shadows under his eyes, and his face still looked slightly pale. But a smile was fixed on his face and his blue eyes lit up upon recognizing his visitor.

There were so many things Wally wanted to say, but the only thing that slipped out oh-so-eloquently was: "Dude, you look awful."

"No dip, Walls," Dick said with a roll of his eyes, "I just woke up about twenty minutes ago. Good timing by the way."

"What can I say, heroes always show up in the nick of time." The red-head put his hands on his hips, smiling proudly.

Dick sighed tiredly, reminding Wally of his friend's predicament.

"How do you feel?" he asked. It seemed like the most necessary question.

"Pretty crappy," Dick confessed, "Over fifty hours, no snack breaks, no sleep. It doesn't do you any favors. And Alfred barely let me out of bed for breakfast and a shower. He thought he needed to bring it up here."

"You nearly fell over," Alfred's voice came from somewhere down the hall, "bed rest is the best thing if you want to recover your strength, Master Richard."

"Yeah, yeah," Dick grumbled.

He looked so pouty it took all of Wally's self control not to burst out laughing. Instead, he plopped himself down on the bed, casually leaning back with his fingers interlocked behind his head.

"So where's Bats?"

"Alseep."

"Really?" Wally sat bolt upright, surprised. That man never slept.

"Really," repeated Dick with a grin, "The entire Justice League agreed that the best way to get Bruce to rest was to sedate him. Otherwise, he'd have been out, righting all the wrongs he committed for Ivy. He's going to throw a _fit _when he wakes up and finds out. The League doesn't really realize that pulling two-straight all nighters is like, on Bruce's weekly agenda."

"So what about you? How come you're not drugged?"

"Apparently, they don't think I'm as stubborn as he is." Dick shrugged. He went to throw off his covers to get up for something, but Alfred's voice wafted through the door: 'Don't you dare get out of that bed, Richard Grayson!'

"Or they know who your taskmaster is." Wally smirked as his friend grudgingly settled back into his bed.

"How does he do that?" Dick grumped under his breath.

Wally laughed, "It's a bat family thing. What did you need?"

"My school laptop. That one there… no, the other one. I'm probably so behind on my homework. Murphy's Law would state that I recently received two class projects, five essays, and a truckload of algebra homework."

"That's what you get for attending a fancy-pants school," Wally said, handing him the computer.

"Well, you know how it is. The sons of billionaires can't attend just any _public_ school, like someone I know." Dick's tone was dripping with sarcasm as he started his computer, fingers flying across the keyboard at an impossible pace (even Wally couldn't type that fast with super-speed).

"So… do you, remember anything?"

Dick grimaced, but didn't look up, "Some of it. It was like a bad dream, but one that you find out was all real when you wake up. Trust me, I know what that's like. I can only recall odd parts. I think Superboy might have punched me. I'm really sore."

"Yeah, he did."

"Alfred gave me the rundown of everything that happened, but no details. I'm not sure what to think," He slowly smirked, "I'm a little proud, even though I know I shouldn't be. The League, we took out _The League_! Oh, and I knocked all you guys out too."

Wally grimaced, his pride hurt. "Technically, you didn't _knock_ me out."

Dick didn't say anything. He was staring at his computer, an expression of shock on his face.

"What is it?" Wally asked, scooting around so he could see the screen.

"I got an email… from Artemis."

Dick opened the message on his inbox. The text in big green letters read:

_Hey Grayson,_

_I heard you were sick. Hope you get well soon!_

_I'll be honest, I'm missing you here at school. Mr. Baker saw fit to let us try and self-teach ourselves from our books, and your big brain is way better than the textbook :P_

_Don't be gone for too long, or Babs is going to lose her mind. Bette took your place at the lunch table, claims she's 'filling in' for you, but all she can talk about is her Robin fixation. Babs nearly drowned herself in her milk carton and I feel for her. She's pretty worried because apparently you haven't been answering her calls. Don't die on us! If Bette takes up permanent residence, you're going to have to send me to Arkham._

_See you soon (hopefully),_

_Artemis_

Dick cackled, "Oh Wally. Your girlfriend sends the nicest emails."

"She's not my girlfriend," Wally deadpanned. Unexpected jealousy was rising in his chest, coloring his cheeks as he fought to stay calm. It was hopeless though. Dick was the protégé to the greatest detective in the world, he noticed the signs.

"When are you going to have it?" the black haired boy asked cryptically.

"Have what?"

"An epiphany. I want to be there to see the light go on in your head."

"Whatever," Wally was fine with denial.

Dick smirked knowingly as he went back to his laptop.

"You dislocated her shoulder you know." The red-head's voice was quiet.

Dick looked up at his friend, a mixture and horror and disbelief on his face, "Really?"

"Really."

The younger boy bit his lip. Wally was able to see the guilt in his features, not just for Artemis, but the whole catastrophe. Realizing he had been a bit tactless, he told the rest of his story.

"I reset her shoulder for her, told her I'd get her ice cream sometime."

Dick smiled. He was familiar with Barry's buying Wally ice cream when he accidently got hurt or did something good as Kid Flash. Needless to say, it was good motivation for the young speedster. He had tried it on Bruce once. Batman told him that 'justice was its own reward, but if he really wanted something special, he'd make him a soy-protein shake when they got home.' That was the last time he asked.

He grinned, "Sound's like I got you a date Walls, you should thank me."

"Whatever," the speedster rolled his eyes, "Speaking of 'dates,' I gotta go meet Artemis soon. Gotham Academy lets out in five minutes."

"Thanks for dropping by," Dick voice was grateful. Sometimes Wally forgot how young his friend was. He could hide it so well.

"Anything for my best pal. Get some rest."

"Or what? You gonna sedate me?"

Wally smirked, "I'll leave that up to Alfred."

"I'm doomed!" Dick groaned, falling back on his pillows.

"I heard that Master Richard!" Alfred's voice came from somewhere on the first floor this time.

The boys laughed.

"So, see ya soon then!"

"As soon as Alfie lets me up." Dick vowed.

"Then, sometime next week?" Wally teased.

"Don't give him any ideas."

Wally's own cackle echoed through the mansion as he sped out. Robin would be back in a day, bet you five bucks. Oh wait, that money is for the ice cream. Nevermind.


End file.
